Rider of Salem
by theoneandonlylordmonkeyknight
Summary: Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but vengeance is a dish best served hot. As a man enters his final moments, he's given a way out. What happens when a Rider comes to Salem? Rated "T" for death and language. Two-shot.
1. A New Rider

**So we read The Crucible in English class, and this story is what my warped mind came up with after combining the play with the Ghost Rider. As there are at least three different kinds of entities speaking in this story, I will list the entities and what their dialogue looks like. While I don't believe that you need to have read or watched The Crucible before reading my story, I think it would help you understand why our main character is in his current situation. And now, without further ado, I give you the first chapter of the first ever Crucible/Ghost Rider crossover, Rider of Salem.**

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_Italics: Spirit of Vengeance_

**"Bold": Ghost Rider**

"Normal": Human

_**"Bolded Italics": Rider and Vengeance speaking as one**_

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The last thing John Proctor remembered was being pushed off the platform as the noose tightened around his neck. Darkness fell across his vision, only to be replaced by an eerie blue light.

_So, you're my newest host. Let me guess. Your daddy's dying of cancer, and so you sold your soul to save him, and became Mephistopheles's attack dog. _John didn't know how to respond. What was that voice? Who was it coming from? _I suppose I should introduce myself. Name's Vengeance. Full name is Spirit of Vengeance. Dunno why I was sent back in time to the here and now, but if you could enlighten me on recent events, I might be able to figure it out. _John was stupefied. How was he supposed to tell Vengeance what happened? The blue light intensified, becoming a formless blue fire. As it did, Proctor could swear he felt someone or something roll its eyes at him. _Just do what you normally do to talk, mortal. Sheesh, do I gotta explain this every time I get a different host?_

"What do you mean by host, man? I do not understand what is happening. Please, sir, explain!" The farmer blinked. Did he just talk? But how? The flames chuckled at his outburst.

_Oh, so the whole host part gets you, but not me being the incarnation of vengeance itself? You mortals, always full of surprises. Can't blame you, really, this would blow anyone's mind. Well, I'll tell what I know, and then we can compare notes, alright?_ John nodded his head, still bewildered at what was going on. _Good. Now then, I am the Spirit of Vengeance. Every few years or so, a mortal finds themselves in a situation where they would sell their soul to save someone or something. That's when he appears. Mephistopheles._

"Who is this Mephistopheles? I have not heard his name before."

_The mortals have many different names for him. Beelzebub, the Dragon, Lucifer, Satan-_

"The Devil! Why is his unholy being part of this story? Tell me you do not work for such a dark being," John demanded. The flames chuckled again.

_Gotta admit, you're faster than most mortals are with this tale. You have no idea how much time you just saved me._ Proctor felt sick. He was conversing with the minion of the foulest, unholy, and sinful being to exist in God's creation. _I wasn't done, mortal. The only reason I'm with the snake is because that's where He put me after Lucifer's fall from heaven. You see, mortal, I exist to prove a point to the Lord of the Flies. Do you wanna know why? _John did not want to know why, but he had a feeling that Vengeance would tell him anyways. _Every time ol' Mephistopheles made a deal and gave me a host, the mortal that hosted me broke away and did his own thing. I'm not his minion. I'm a thorn in his side, and if it were possible to damn me, then I'll be damned if he likes me. Your turn._ John frowned, but considered the fact that Vengeance sounded sincere. Well, as sincere as fire can get. And so the farmer told the story of what happened in Salem, sparing the spirit no details, all the way up to his point of death.

"Speaking of which, why am I not standing before God to be judged?"

'_Cause you ain't dead. _John blinked. How was he not dead? He had been hanged, pushed off the platform; he had felt his neck snap…wait. He never felt his neck snap.

"Explain. How am I not dead?"

_Time has been stopped in your world. This has happened before. Are you about to die?_

"I am accused of witchcraft. If I had confessed to it, my life would have been spared. I refused the court's offer. My name is my own, and I would rather die than let it be used in a lie." For a third time since their meeting, the spirit chuckled.

_Oh, I think you and I are gonna get along real well. To put it simply, you're in the moment right before the noose claims another life. Your life, specifically. Now tell me, mortal. If it were possible for you to keep your name and live, would you do it?_

"As long as I am kept out of the lie, yes."

_Well then, you got two choices. The first one is to accept me, and become my host. Result: you live, but for a price. The second is to reject being my host. Result: you die, and you go on to Judgment. _John knitted his eyebrows together.

"What do you mean by price, sir? Do I have to give you my soul?"

_Nothing so dramatic. Let's just say you won't be yourself, especially at night. Judgment will also be different when you do die. How different depends on what you do while hosting me. And before you ask, no, it's not possession, it is one spirit and one soul in the same body. _Proctor pondered his options.

"Will I be able to see my wife again?"

_Oh, you'll see her, but as for how'll she'll react to you surviving the noose…you'll just have to find out, won't you?_

"I have to see her again; I must make sure she has not been harmed, for she is with child!" When Vengeance didn't respond, John was taken aback, thinking he had offended the spirit. Finally, Vengeance spoke again, though pauses happened many times, as though he were holding back.

_She…is with…child? An innocent woman…with a baby on the way…and they would HANG HER?! _This explosion of fury nearly deafened John. _I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS, MORTAL! ACCEPT MY OFFER SO THAT WE MAY SHOW THESE "RIGHTEOUS" MEN JUST HOW CLOSE THEY ARE FROM __**FALLING INTO THE PIT! **_The blue flame extended towards him, forming a complete arm. John hesitated for the briefest of moments before accepting the outstretched, fiery limb. The flames engulfed him, and the world faded back into view.

The Ghost Rider had been reborn.

~~~~Line Break~~~~

As John Proctor was pushed off the platform, Cheever turned away. John had his chance, and he threw it away. Cheever walked towards his horse, intending to head home. He had just reached the horse when a collective shriek rose up from the crowd behind him. The deputy whipped back around, and saw a sight that filled him with terror.

John Proctor was not hanging from the noose that had been tied around his neck. Instead, a fiery skeleton wearing Proctor's clothes had replaced him, and was currently struggling against the rope. The skeleton broke free of the rope, and snapped the chains clasped on its wrist bones. Many screams and cries filled the air, all of them sending the same message using different words: Run, lest this demon get your soul. Cheever, however, could not move. His fear paralyzed him, even as the skeleton strode up to him. As it approached, Cheever could see that the bone that made the skeleton was blackened as though burned, and the eye sockets were different as well. They were shaped in a way that made it look like the skull was glaring. And it was glaring at him. Cheever fell to his knees, praying feverishly that he would not die tonight. Finally the skeleton had reached Cheever, and was looking down at his pathetic position. Cheever risked looking up at the fiery being of bone, and begged for his life. "P-please, d-do n-n-not kill m-m-m-me! I am an innocent man!" The skeleton responded to his plea by lifting him up by his shirt. It looked him straight in the eye, and spoke four words.

"**So was Giles Corey."**

"Mercy! Please!" The skeleton seemed to consider the deputy's words. Two small flames lit in its eye sockets. Cheever shuddered as a feeling colder than ice raced down his body. The skeleton spoke again.

**"You...mostly...innocent."** The skeleton dropped Cheever, who quickly scrambled away. The skeleton then approached Cheever's horse, who only looked at the skeleton; instinct told the equine to not move. The skeleton laid its bony hands on the horse's side, opened its mouth, and _hissed. _The horse shuddered and twitched as hellfire spread across its body, charring its mane and coat a burnt black. Its mane then caught on fire, as did its hooves and tail. The horse's eyes became similar to the skeleton's eyes, only the fire completely filled the horse's eye sockets. The horse reared back and let out a distorted whinny, then slammed its hooves into the ground, leaving small craters. Satisfied, the skeleton took a step back, then swung itself up and into the saddle, which had turned to metal and fused with the horse's back. **"Don't mess up again. God may give second chances,"** the skeleton spoke, swinging its skull to look at Cheever. **"But the Ghost Rider does not."** With that, the Ghost Rider snapped the chain-link reins, and the Demon Stallion took off into the darkness of the early-morning twilight. It was only when the Rider left that Cheever was able to speak again.

"May God help us all."

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**Short chapter, but hey, not a bad start. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you when the next chapter comes up!**

**jsun25, logging off**


	2. First Victim

Judge Danforth sighed as he read the letters sent in to try and liberate those accused of witchcraft. It didn't matter; as long as his reputation was at stake if he released the people scheduled to be executed, they would not walk free. "Not anything to do about it, yet the fools keeps on begging me to pardon them. Whether stubborn or stupid, it grows tiresome." Thomas Putnam, who had been reading the Bible as Danforth went through the letters, looked up as the old judge spoke.

"Perhaps you should simply reject any letters with that particular subject, Mr. Danforth." Danforth snorted, wishing that a solution so simple were possible.

"If only it were that easy, Putnam." Just then, Reverend Hale burst through the door, heaving and gasping for breath. "Mr. Hale? What's the matter, Reverend? You look as though you ran from the Devil himself." Hale continued to breathe heavily, regaining his composure, speaking quickly as he did so.

"Not the Devil, sir- but a creature close enough! I was traveling back to my lodgings when a flaming skeleton riding a hellish horse burst through the trees, directly in front of me. My own horse had reared back in fright, throwing me to the ground. The skeleton saw me, and approached. It- it spoke to me, sir."

"What did it say, man? Speak!"

"The creature bid me run to the courts, and warn you, Judge." Danforth cocked an eyebrow.

"Warn me of what, Reverend?" Hoofsteps, approaching quickly, sounded outside the court. Panic filled Hale's face.

"The creature comes for you, sir!" Though the court's main doors were designed to open outwards, they exploded inwards as a demonic looking stallion galloped through them. It came to a stop in the middle of the room, and reared back, giving off a whinny that sounded as hellish as it looked. It slammed its hooves into the ground, and the rider of the horse was revealed. A skeleton, burnt black, and on fire.

The Ghost Rider had found his first target.

~~~~Line Break~~~~

As Rider dismounted his Demon Stallion, he took survey of the room. Three men, Hale, the judge, and an unknown human, were gaping at him. The judge quickly regained his composure, and snapped at Hale, of whom Proctor had told the Rider about. He was clean of the so-called 'trials'. "Reverend! This is obviously a demon, and you are a man of God, are you not? Remove this creature!" The Rider watched as Hale gulped, but obeyed. Rider couldn't blame him, nor would he act against the Reverend. The man was innocent.

"Demon! In the name of God Most High, I command you to leave this place!" Rider simply looked at the reverend and tilted his head. Oh, the mortals were _so_ amusing.

"**I'm sorry; we're all out of tickets to Zero Craps Given Island. Would you prefer a ticket to Shut The Hell Up Isle instead?" **Hale's expression had gone from unsure to bewildered and confused. **"I'm no demon, Hale. You want a demon? There's two of them right there." **Putnam sputtered, but said nothing as the Ghost Rider's gaze swung to him. Danforth, however, remained calm.

"You will leave, demon. God is on our side, and there is no way you can harm us while He stands with us."

"**God is with you, is He? Allow me to correct you." **Rider pointed at Putnam, who began visibly trembling. **"Give me your Bible, mortal." **Putnam started to object, but reconsidered. He gave Rider the Bible, backing off quickly. **"You have a cross somewhere on you, priesty. Lemme have it." **Unlike Putnam, Hale wasted no time giving Rider his cross. **"Now then, I'm holding both God's Word and a cross. Still think I'm a demon?" **Danforth's expression remained the same.** "Stubborn mortal. Fine. I'm overdue to say this anyways." **Rider knelt on the floor of the court, clutching both Bible and cross. As he knelt, Rider underwent a transformation. His flame turned blue, his bone became white as pearl, and the glare permanently etched into his skull lessened to that of a normal skull's toothy grin. When he spoke again, his voice was different, as though two entities were speaking through one mouth. The words that came from Rider's lipless mouth shocked the three men in the courtroom:

"_**Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us of our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen."**_

When Rider's prayer ended, his flames blazed brighter than before, engulfing him in a blue light. For a moment, Hale could've sworn he saw another man standing in the flames, right next to Rider. When the flames died down to the norm, they turned orange again, and Rider became the way he was before. Giving Putnam back his Bible, Rider turned to Hale, and held up the cross questioningly. Hale nodded, and Rider pocketed the cross. Danforth grew tired of the silence, and broke it. "Hale! Are you going to drive out the demon, or not?!"

"This is not a demon, sir; it is of God's work. It doesn't come from the abyss. I have no power over it." As Hale spoke, Rider moved. He went over to his demonic horse, and removed the chain that served as reins for the stallion.

"**Your time has come, Danforth. Too many innocent have died by your order." **Rider snapped the chain towards Danforth, and it wrapped around him. **"Their blood is on your hands!" **Rider yanked, and Danforth was sent tumbling from the judge's seat, landing in front of Rider. Rider pulled him up, so that they were face-to-face. **"Look into my eyes…feel their pain!"** Danforth had no choice but to stare into Rider's eye sockets, in which tiny flames had lit. As he did, visions flashed before his eyes; men and women being pushed off the platform, children crying as they were pushed, husbands and wives crying out as they died, and the pain, the _pain_ of it all stabbed and snapped until Danforth couldn't take the flaming visions anymore. He screamed a scream primal as time itself, and Danforth saw no more. When Danforth's eyes turned coal black, Rider let go of him, his work done. Putnam had had enough, and bolted for the doors. Without even looking at him, Rider whipped his chain towards Putnam. It wrapped around Putnam, and the fool of a man struggled against the chain, not wanting to meet Danforth's fate. Rider yanked on the chain again, but this time, it tore through Putnam, turning him to ash. Wordlessly, Ghost Rider threaded the chain back through the Demon Stallion's bridle, and remounted the horse. **"Look after Elizabeth, Reverend. Nothing stupid or I won't be the one you'll deal with. John Proctor would be more than happy to wail on you for any misstep." **He flicked the chains, and the Demon Stallion took off, leaving fiery hoofsteps and a distorted whinny in his wake. It was only after Ghost Rider had left that Hale was able to speak.

"John Proctor?"

~~~~Line Break~~~~

_In Ghost Rider's head:_

_John watched as Vengeance directed the Rider to head deep into the forest. He spoke questioning the spirit. "Where are we headed, Vengeance?"_

_There's more than just this world out there, mortal. How do you feel about seeing this world's future?_

"_The future? That would be incredible! How do we get there?"_

_Heh. Just like this._

~~~~Line Break~~~~

Ghost Rider roared, and a swirling circle of darkness opened up. Rider rode his stallion into the portal without hesitating, and as the darkest hero disappeared, peace settled over Salem.

The rule of the courts was over.

~~~~Line Break~~~~

**And, we're done. I'm going to keep this at a two-shot, unless I am specifically given an idea for another chapter.**

**jsun25, logging off**


End file.
